


It's a shot in the dark

by Pippitypopadoo



Series: Self-indulgent IwaOi [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, M/M, Some angst, Some fusion of military agents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-25
Updated: 2015-01-25
Packaged: 2018-03-09 01:08:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3230480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pippitypopadoo/pseuds/Pippitypopadoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everything was going to plan. It was just a simple "go in, get some information, wreck some subtle hell, get out" mission. Easy. Aobajousai could probably do it in their sleep.</p><p>Except Oikawa decided to disappear. Then everything went to hell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's a shot in the dark

**Author's Note:**

> A pre-birthday fic for my dear Renly, just so I can get out of not posting her complete actual giftfic next week and get away with a chapter instead <3
> 
> I enjoy reading/watching military and agents stuff but this, wow, I am not good at this. I tried though, and it turned out longer than I expected? But, hey, I'm okay with what I've written, considering!
> 
> Also, whoops I haven't posted in a while. Touyuki fic next week, but I've got Iwaoi WIP that WILL see the light of day.

Red lights flickered on the screen as seconds passed, a reminder of the amount of time they could afford to stay in the premises. Iwaizumi was bent over the control panels, studying the dials and keyboards in the dim light that was shining softly through the large window before him, where the control room overlooked the machines. Kunimi’s laptop beeped once from where it was plugged into one of the ports on office desk, on which their communications expert was furiously typing as he worked through firewalls and security blocks.

Matsukawa stood guard at the office’s entrance, keeping track of the movements of the rest of their teammates. Iwaizumi let the tapping of fingers on keyboards and occasional reports from his earpiece wash away into the background as he made his adjustments to the configuration on the control panel, slight enough to not be immediately noticeable but problematic once they were long gone, all while keeping an eye on the security feeds. He was almost done with that, wondered if he could afford to throw in some subtle ‘fuck you’ havoc that would last longer to fix. That would be nice and tempting, even if it was risky.

He had some time still though if he wanted to do that, and when done with typing in the last key commands into the control panel, Iwaizumi looked up to survey the camera feeds. Three shadows slipped away from one of the screens as quietly as they entered another, Hanamaki leading Watari and Yahaba towards the armoury in the north as planned, and on schedule too. On the other side of the compound where the R&D offices were, all was quiet too, but Oikawa and Kindaichi should be reporting in by now. Kindaichi was evidently there; Iwaizumi wouldn’t have seen him if he hadn’t shifted ever so slightly. And yet, there hadn’t been any sounds from them for… a while. Even if they were meant to cut the chatter at times like this, Oikawa never cared enough to when they’re on an easy mission. Irritating, but something they’d come to accept as a reassuring constant.

And in their books, this counted as one: a simple infiltration, extracting information and planting terrible things that go boom, and then leaving long before anyone even noticed that there were eight more people in the building then there should have been.

Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes at the screen where Kindaichi was in. Oikawa should be with him. “Come in, Oikawa.”

He was met with silence, and he heard Matsukawa shift at the door.

“Oikawa you shithead, now’s not the time for games.”

On the screen, Kindaichi visibly straightened, but he was saying nothing either. Iwaizumi gritted his teeth. “Kindaichi, report your status.”

“In position, sir. Only a few researchers left in R&D on night duty,” Kindaichi spoke quickly. “Their numbers are as intel had suggested-“

“I am looking at the security feeds, I know that without you telling me,” he snapped. “What I don’t know is where your commanding officer fucked off to, and why the hell he’s off the comms.”

“Sir, I…” Kindaichi trailed off.

“I’m waiting,” he warned.

“I… I don’t know sir.”

 _God damnit._ Iwaizumi took a deep breath to fortify himself. He should have known something was up when that damned bastard insisted on leading his own team during their infiltration, choosing to switch with Iwaizumi’s job this one time rather than being in the control room where he could keep an eye on everyone. “Kindaichi, talk fast.”

“We about to descend from the vents of the west wing and enter the hallway when Oikawa suddenly stopped. He… It seemed like he heard something or saw something, but I didn’t… nothing seemed strange or out of the ordinary to me. He then said that we were ahead of schedule and told me to move ahead first. He said he’d meet me in time, then made me go down before him.”

“You mean he stayed in the vents?” Iwaizumi asked flatly.

“… Yes, sir.” Kindaichi said sheepishly. Staying in the vents… he could have gone anywhere. Iwaizumi darted a look at the time counter. Oikawa had apparently lied, because they were not, in fact, ahead of schedule. They were on time, and would have continued to be on time if Oikawa had not darted off to god knows where. Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes, feeling a headache starting to build up at the back of his head. He had enough to deal with already with Oikawa hovering over him pre-mission, trying to convince him that they could deal with the mission without him, and after Iwaizumi had it known to the whole team that he was coming along even if the world ended and all hell had broken loose, Oikawa had practically _mothered_ him all the way en route to this facility. Like he was some fucking newbie. God fucking damn it, he could hold his own; it was just a blow to his head and he was _fine now_ , that shitass didn’t have to treat him like he was made of spun glass.

And now, that shitass was nowhere to be seen or heard.

“What are your orders, sir?” Hanamaki asked. He’d stopped some corridors away from the armoury, from where he was originally supposed to move in the same time as Oikawa’s, _if someone had stuck to the plan._

“Matsukawa, go to Kindaichi and take over Oikawa’s role. From there, you two proceed as normal. Kunimi, find a way to track that useless-“

There was a crackle in the comms, and then- “That won’t be necessary. Kindaichi can do fine by himself. All of you, stick to the plan.”

“Which plan are we talking about,” Iwaizumi hissed without missing a beat, even if all he could think was _Thank goodness he’s fine and alive_ and then _Holy shit I’m going to beat him up once we’re out of here_. “Because I’m sure in all our team briefings none of them involved you _fucking off without a word_ -”

“Hush, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa’s voice still held it’s light and easygoing tone, and Iwaizumi tightened his fists, ready to punch something. “I’m just taking a detour, scoping around, doing some nice sightseeing. It’s a pretty great facility they have here, you know! Lots of high-tech stuff, might be nice to bring some ideas back, the girls in Engineering would love it."

"Where are you."

"Ah ah, we're on a schedule, Iwa-chan! No time for small talk, silly. Kindaichi, you should be entering the left office now, shouldn't you?"

"But, I..."

"I've faith in you! You can handle it by yourself, or I wouldn't have brought you with me!" Oikawa said cheerfully.

Iwaizumi’s jaw tensed and he nearly lost his restraint, very much tempted to slam his fist on the control panel. " _You've been planning this from the start?!"_

"Everything's fine, Iwa-chan, don't you fret~" The singsong manner in which Oikawa said that was unsettling. Iwaizumi pushed away from the control panel and paced the short expanse of floor between the panel and the office desk, for want of something to do when he'd no idea what danger that headstrong idiot was putting himself in.

"Kindaichi needs support, it’s new to him, you can’t just leave him-" Iwaizumi argued, even if Oikawa did just do that, even if that wasn’t what he wanted to argue about at all.

"Get going rookie." Oikawa's voice was low and hard, the abrupt change in tone snapping everyone to attention. "No one is to leave their stations or stray from their objective. That's an order from your captain."

Kindaichi was moving away already, light on his feet as a soft chorus of "Sir, yes sir" rang down the comms line. Iwaizumi stayed mutinously silent, eyes darting from screen to screen, desperately searching for a familiar figure.

"Iwa-chan," Oikawa said warningly, and of course he had the monster senses to pick that up.

"Fuck that," Iwaizumi shot back. "I'm coming after your ass."

"Flattering, but don't pull a muscle just for me, we don't need you back under Doc's care."

"Oh, you think you can stop me?" Iwaizumi's eye twitched at the insinuation, and he was already headed to the door. But of course, Oikawa always rose up to the challenge. That's what made him such a damn fine leader, and fuck if that hadn't made Iwaizumi admire him so much.

"Don't bother coming." Oikawa's voice was cold, mocking. "You'll slow me down." Iwaizumi stilled, placed the foot he'd lifted back onto the floor. The room was silent. The comms were quiet.

Iwaizumi swallowed, gutted. What…

Why would Oikawa…

He switched to a private connection anyway and plunged in anyway. "Seriously?" he asked quietly. The man stayed stubbornly silent on the other end, and Iwaizumi waited, walking back to the security feeds and sitting down heavily on a chair. Hanamaki had already taken down the guards on duty and was in the armoury. Kindaichi was successfully avoiding detection and edging past a room. Thank goodness for that, at least.

Iwaizumi waited some more.

Oikawa softly exhaled.

"You won't say? Even to me?" Iwaizumi swallowed, trying not to push, it wasn’t the time to push, but this, how else was he supposed to-

"Trust me," Oikawa said instead.

He sighed heavily and leaned back against the chair rest, closing his eyes momentarily.

"... You'll find out soon enough, Iwa-chan," Oikawa said softly, then hummed. "I’ll be fine, don’t worry." Iwaizumi paused at that. What...

On the team line was a cryptic, "On your toes, team. Get ready to move fast."

Iwaizumi lurched forward, just in time to spot Oikawa sweeping past a scientist in one of the R&D offices. He swung a roundhouse kick, knocked another out with his elbow, before coming face to face with a gun. Iwaizumi grabbed his own holster without thinking, but Oikawa was already leaning backwards in one fluid motion, landing on his hands and flipping over a desk. The bullet he dodged flew past his head and into the glass windowbehind him.

The tinkling sound of glass shattering over the comms was drowned out by the wailing siren. Iwaizumi's eyes dropped to the control panel as he moved to deactivate the alarm. "Kunimi! To Matsukawa! Team, prepare for retreat." he barked.

"Sir!" The laptop disappeared into Kunimi's bag as he joined Matsukawa at the door, pistol carbine drawn.

"Sir, I'm all done here," Kindaichi reported, the last of the vials retrieved and kept, as he stepped around the scientists unconscious on the floor.

"Good work, assist Oikawa." The alarms finally stopped its piercing cry and Iwaizumi’s eyes darted from slider to switch as he tried to prepare to make the largest, noisiest distraction possible so that they could get the fuck away.

"Negative, I’m fine," Oikawa said curtly, somehow already in the middle of the room when Iwaizumi wasn't looking. The screen was grainy, but for the moment he was grappling with his attacker.

Before Iwaizumi could even protest, Hanamaki’s breathless voice was sounding in his ear, "We managed to leave the armoury with the charges inside before anyone saw us inside, but the bodies were spotted and we-” Faint sounds of gunshots rang out, closely followed by thundering footsteps. They disappeared from the monitor, and then seemed to disappear. Probably entered a blind spot, damnit. Hanamaki was biting off curses, and then Yahaba spoke up, “We’re in the corner of corridors C and D, south of the armoury, more hostiles incoming.”

Iwaizumi’s eyes sweeped across the screens. “Five… Seven coming in from -4B, another four have just come down from the northeast stairwell,” he reported, fingers flying over the keyboards as he pulled down the shutters in corridor -4D. “I’ll buy you some time, shut down the elevators and pull down the shutters for all stairs in the north.”

“Do we retreat to the south corridors?” Yahaba asked as Hanamaki bit off a curse.

Iwaizumi paused. “No, go by the east, most of the security and going up the stairs from the south and west stairs. Get up to level -2, then make your way to R&D. Kindaichi, you….” He took another look at the security feeds. “Make sure no one interrupts Oikawa’s fight.”

“Hey, I don’t-“

“You shut up, you’re in a team so _act like it_.”

Kindaichi’s affirmative call was lost in the _rat-a-tat_ of semi-automatic firing outside the control room. “We’re gonna get a party in here soon,” Matsukawa called out after a loud thump of a body falling.

Iwaizumi didn’t turn around. Matsukawa would have his back, and he himself had more than half his team’s back to look after right now. This was why Oikawa was usually the one heading the whole operation; Iwaizumi much preferred being in the action, where he could move and adapt to the situation. He was meant to _deal_ with problems as they come, not watch helplessly through multitudes of eight by six inch screens and try to plan ahead on a time limit move his team to safety while he himself _could not shoot a fucking man down to clear the way for them_. Oikawa though, Oikawa could be eating the countless milk buns that he always had on hand by now, and give nonsense chatter in the comms as he played with the opposition forces like cat with mice, making them run in circles and chase after shadows.

But Iwaizumi wasn’t second-in-command by cowering from being outside his comfort zone. They were in this job because they thrived under high-adrenaline situations, and Iwaizumi sure as hell wasn’t going to leave this place with any less than seven men. Oikawa and the guy had moved their fighting to the hallway – _who the hell was that guy and how is he lasting against Oikawa?_ – and sure enough, more men were coming towards them. Kindaichi was trying his best to hold them off, and Iwaizumi was trying to buy as much time as possible for his team by blocking routes or calling out instructions, but with the way the fighting was going on outside the control panel, security would soon override the controls in here. Fighting would be concentrated in the R &D wing and if they didn’t get out soon, the mission would go into FUBAR territory very quickly.

“We’ve almost at R&D, ETA 5 minutes,” Hanamaki called out.

“We gotta haul ass soon,” Matsukawa panted as he ducked back against the wall for a breather. Iwaizumi slipped out the data stick in his pocket and plunged it into the port on his left.

“Really, all this attention is flattering,” Oikawa said, voice starting to show strains of fatigue.

“No, you’re just a problem child,” Iwaizumi said shortly as the data worm was uploaded into the system.

“… Coming to get me out?”

“Yeah, and you better not get defeated before then, or I’d be too embarrassed to return to HQ.”

There was huff that sounded suspiciously like a laugh in disguise. “So cold! Demanding as always, Iwa-chan.”

“Yeah, well. Kunimi, call our ride in.” Iwaizumi inputted the last few “shake shit up” commands. “We’re just about done here, let’s get going boys.” Shots were still fired outside and he could hear the shouts of men getting louder.

“We have to go,” Matsukawa asked and Iwaizumi spared a second glance before hurrying to the door.

 “On three,” he said, pulling out a flash grenade. “One, two-“

“ _FUCK_ _!”_ Oikawa shouted. There was a gunshot, ringing loudly in Iwaizumi’s ear, then a bunch of the security feeds snapped into blackness-

Hanamaki was demanding for Oikawa to respond, for Kindaichi to give an update but there was no reply-

“Three!” Iwaizumi tossed the grenade out, and in the explosion of light and pained cries, the three darted out of the room.

He turned in the direction of the R&D wing and ran.

///

Hanamaki drew up with him, silently keeping pace with a tense Matsukawa. Iwaizumi knew all too well what they was feeling, and beyond that even.

They’d been in the same team ever since they were trainees, had watched out for each other for what felt like forever. They’d gone up the ranks together, deflected childish pranks from jealous trainees and agents alike, pretended not to know what was going on when Oikawa planned retaliation, pulled Oikawa out of trouble (or get into it together with him) during said retaliation.

They’d been through thick and thin together. It wasn’t the first time Oikawa deviated from the plan, but it was the first time they didn’t know about it beforehand, weren’t confided in before the whole mess, and they had no idea why Oikawa would do something this foolhardy.

And to drag the rookie in their team who wouldn’t know better than to say no into his plans…

When this was all over, Iwaizumi wouldn’t be the only one giving Oikawa a thorough verbal beating.

Yahaba, Watari and Kunimi kept up behind them, and everything was quiet. Not even the sounds of distant gunfire, which would have been reassuring at least that someone was alive. The quiet was nerve-wrecking and pushed in from all directions, wrapping lead around his lungs and squeezing his heart and it was hard to think, hard to feel when all that filled his mind was worry and anxiety and fear of what he’d find when he got there because please-

Please, if his ancestors ever did watch over him from above-

Please let them be, let _him_ be-

No, no, just, he wouldn’t-

Have to get him out-

_Let me be-_

///

"Don't bother coming." Oikawa's voice was cold, mocking. "You'll slow me down." Iwaizumi stilled, placed the foot he'd lifted back onto the floor. The room was silent. The comms were quiet.

He felt his heart chill, the prickling up his neck and down his arms.

Oikawa had never talked like that to him before. Ever.

He could just about imagine the sneer Oikawa must be wearing, the kind of sneer used when faced with rival colleagues, asshole superiors, juniors who didn't know their place and whose egos were just asking to be burst very painfully. It was a face Iwaizumi had seen countless times, a face that was never shown to their team and never, ever to him. It was a face that contorted Oikawa's naturally handsome features, a mask that came in different variations and in the worst version, it was accompanied with cutting words. Words with needle-like precision that struck hard where it hurt, and stay lodged.

Anyone who'd ever borne the brunt of his verbal attacks, or witnessed it, usually hated him for it. Iwaizumi didn't blame them (even if he sometimes viciously thought they deserved it), but they'd never seen the aftermath. No one had ever seen how Oikawa would be lost in his own thoughts long after, or know about the self-loathing that Oikawa would use to flay himself internally. Oikawa was someone who was extremely aware, aware of the situation, of other people's characteristics and motivations, of his own strengths and weaknesses, and especially of his own inner demons.

"Get me out, Iwa-chan," he'd whisper in a tortured when they were alone. _Get me out of my head_ , he'd say.

No one had ever dealt with the aftermath like Iwaizumi had. And he knew that no one was ever allowed as close as he was too.

So those words, those words had cut like a knife, but like a plastic knife jabbing at him because they were spoken without real meaning. That it's Oikawa being the one who said it to him directly, with that godawful tone, that had been like a serrated blade dragging slowly across his heart, leaving behind a scarlet bleeding mess of pain and worry.

Iwaizumi swallowed, gutted. What would force Oikawa to say those words, why would he deliberately push him away, what…

Just what the hell was going on?

///

As they neared the R&D wing, they had to pull down night-vision goggles. All lights were suspiciously off. Moving silently, they approached the offices.

“Sir!” A familiar voice called out as they reached the corner, Kindaichi turning towards them. A shot, and the figure behind him dodged back into the corridor they’d emerge from as Kunimi trained his gun on where they’d disappeared to. As they provided covering fire Kindaichi reached them and they ducked back to a more defensible area. Watari immediately started to pull out his med-kit, getting right to work.

“All comms are down,” Kunimi said quietly. “Probably a short-ranged EMP.”

“Why’d anyone have set off an EMP around so many computers?” Watari frowned. “Anyone that’s not us, I mean, unless Oikawa…?”

“No,” Yahaba spoke up. “Our own techs are tweaking our EMPs, all short ranges should be accounted for.”

“That… I think it’s possible the guy Captain was fighting with did it. When I reached the room Captain was in, the guy had the white lab coat on but… Scientists don’t usually wield guns in the labs do they? His clothes weren’t your typical scientist garb.”

 “A third party, possibly then. Might be that sole man, or he might have some friends we need to look out for,” Matsukawa interjected, then winced as Watari sloshed alcohol on his open wound.

“Where’s Oikawa?” Iwaizumi asked, and everyone turned to face Kindaichi. Who opened his mouth but looked unsure about where to begin.

“… You lost him again, didn’t you,” Hanamaki said slowly.

“Not exactly. Right as the lights went out, Captain fired a shot. I rushed in, and he’d killed the guy, but he himself had fallen to the floor-“ Iwaizumi was pretty sure not a muscle twitched outwardly but his heart twisted ferociously inside – “His side was bleeding terribly, I pulled him into an empty room but then I had to try draw the guards away instead. I, should I have…?”

Iwaizumi shook his head and clapped him on the soldier. “It’s fine, good call.”

“If you’d drawn most of them away, Oikawa would be able to handle the rest himself,” Watari said as he packed his med-kit away, already done with patching them up best as he could.

“You have enough for Oikawa?”

Watari nodded. “I can manage.” Manage would have to be good enough for now.

Hanamaki nodded at that and reloaded his rifle. Taking his cue, the rest of them checked their equipment as well, grim faces filled with determination. “Let’s go save our idiot captain.”

///

Slipping around the other side, Kindaichi led them to the room where he’d left Oikawa. There were dozens of guards at every corner, making it hard to slip by unnoticed. Even with silencers fit in, they only suppress part of the sound of gunshot and now was hardly to shoot recklessly. Too many times, they had close calls. In the unfortunate ones, they had to rely on the element of surprise and knock guards out, but even those they had to try and keep to a minimum. It wouldn’t do to leave a trail of unconscious bodies to be found, after all.

“Here,” Kindaichi whispered, finally. There were men loitering around the corridor, making it impossible to slip in and then out again, with Oikawa in tow. The team contemplated the situation in silence. It was too risky to set up a distraction on the other side of the wing with a few men with these many people, not to mention getting all the way there in the first place, and depending on Oikawa’s injuries, he might not be in any condition to get up to the vents. With the comms down, they’d have no way of communicating once they split up, and having eight people in the narrow vents was simply dumb-

Iwaizumi mentally flipped through his options, rejecting each as soon as he’d begun reviewing them. He would very much willingly taking their place and knock his head onto a wall of reinforced steel, past concussion be damned, if only so those useless ideas would finally stop hitting a dead end. He was _so near_ , Oikawa was just past that door, likely bleeding and in pain and-

And what wouldn’t he do so that their positions were switched. But no, that wouldn’t be fair to Oikawa, because Oikawa was a relentless bastard who didn’t understand the meaning of “hopeless” or “impossible”. Those words had no place in his dictionary, because Oikawa had worked and toiled to make sure they wouldn’t be.

Oikawa didn’t do “give up”, and Iwaizumi sure as hell didn’t either.

“Sir,” Yahaba spoke quietly, and Iwaizumi turned to him. There was a look in his eyes.

“You have an idea?”

“I still have some explosives, I can go through the vents to the other wing, deposit them and then leave.”

Hanamaki turned to him. “You have extras? I thought we left a ton of them in the armoury and used the rest on the way.”

“Ah, well, the captain always said to be prepared just in case, and since I’m the… umm…” Yahaba ducked his head but Hanamaki grinned.

“The explosives expert, right. Good job, kid.”

“Do you know your way though?” Iwaizumi frowned. “Only Oikawa, Kindaichi and I had to memorise those blueprints, yours was just floor plans and the vents downstairs…”

“Oikawa was discussing with me about the complex network the other day, so I have a pretty clear idea about it,” Yahaba said firmly.

“More like complaining about it at you repeatedly, then.” Hanamaki snorted, but Iwaizumi didn’t pay attention to that, already mulling over this possible new plan. Yahaba was a quiet guy, not the most confident of men and while he had his flashes of genius occasionally, he usually seemed to be fine with following orders and supporting the team. Now though, with his unwavering voice and confident stance, he seemed to be finally growing into himself.

He’d take a moment to be proud, that Yahaba and the two rookies were growing and maturing, but he could revel in that later. Now though, now he could work with the option Yahaba had given him. It still had an element of danger, but if careful Yahaba was sure of himself, then it might still work and he could leave with all seven team mates. All they had to do was time everything carefully. The time taken for Yahaba to leave behind his bombs and leave to a safe area, the time between the detonation and getting Oikawa, and then reaching their ride out of here. They were near the edge of the EMP radius, so Kunimi could still get out of it and radio HQ beforehand. Plus-minus just the slightest bit of delay time in case of anything unpleasant, but…

Iwaizumi slowly nodded. “All right, I can work with that.”

\\\\\

Everything seemed to be filled with enough tension to crush a tank lately. When they got back, they better get some well-deserved R&R, well-deserved by virtue of completing the mission and losing nothing but bullets and some blood. Iwaizumi was going to somewhere remote and stare at some green trees or misty mountains. Oikawa would probably make him go stargazing again though.

If there was anything that could nearly be as hateful as being helpless when fellow team mates were in danger, it would be the whole concept of ‘hurry up and wait’. While it made sense to be ready to move out at any time, the mental stress was less than desirable. And with having to practically look after Oikawa all the time, he was going to age prematurely at this rate.

He should probably stop thinking about Oikawa, but that was better than imagining him bleeding alone somewhere.

Iwaizumi tightened his grip on the handle of his rifle. Yahaba should be setting down those charges right about now. Just a few more minutes…

Footsteps sounded up and down the corridor.

There were faint rustling sounds as Watari ensured that his med-kit was easily accessible. He might have to use it quickly later.

Kindaichi stopped himself from tapping his fingers on his thigh.

Iwaizumi evened out his breathing.

A dull roar sounded from the distance as the walls shook ever so slightly.

Iwaizumi leaned forward, crouching ever so slightly as the guards called out, shouted, ran off.

Only a few left behind. Good. Iwaizumi signed with his left hand for his team to wait for just a few more seconds and then-

They darted out in unison, guns at the ready. Kindaichi, Kunimi and Hanamaki covered them, while Iwaizumi, Matsukawa and Watari ducked into the room in the momentary disarray in the guards. The door burst open, to show Oikawa’s body lying on the floor, a pool of blood beside him, right arm shooting up to-

They all ducked, narrowly missing the bullet that shot past right where Matsukawa’s head had been.

Watari rushed forward, unfazed as his medic instincts kicked in, as Matsukawa paused. “Nice welcome, though your timing’s a bit off,” he commented.

“Ah, I’m not in my- arghhhh…” Oikawa groaned. “Not in top form, you have to pretend to forget that, yeah?”

“You idiot,” Iwaizumi scowled as he helped to tilt Oikawa’s body forward so that Watari could wrap the bandages around him easier. He wasn’t sure when exactly he’d reached Oikawa, but that didn’t matter now. “What the fuck- No, nevermind, you’re going to get killed _later_.”

Oikawa laughed feebly, though it was more like a forced exhale. “Okay.” Watari handed him some pills and he popped them dry.

“How much can you move?” Watari asked as he hastily packed up. “We’ll have to move quickly.”

“I won’t die,” Oikawa began, but Iwaizumi was already pulling away his utility belt and guns, then carefully pulling Oikawa onto his back.

“Here’s a new plan for you, Captain. You’re in charge of shutting up and not bleeding all over me.”

“Can I have a gun at least?” Oikawa whined, already wrapping his arms around Iwaizumi’s neck. His back was warm with Oikawa’s body heat, and with Oikawa’s hair tickling his cheek when the troublesome guy reached for a gun that Matsukawa handed him, Iwaizumi didn’t mind the extra weight at all. In fact, he thought he could finally breathe easier now.

All that’s left was to get the hell out of here. Yahaba’s plan was working though, so that might actually be manageable. Things were, at long last, looking up. They were coming to the end of the godforsaken mission.

“Fine,” Iwaizumi grumbled, though not really feeling irritated at all. “As long as you don’t choke me.”

Oikawa responded with a teasing squeeze around his neck, and then they were out of the room.

///

In the back of the chopper, far away from the compound they had been supposed to infiltrate quietly, Iwaizumi looked at Oikawa straight in the eye as Hanamaki and Matsukawa lounged oh-so-casually near beside them.

"What the fuck was that?" Iwaizumi demanded.

“That was a team that dealt with changes to the plan with flexibility and succeeded!” Oikawa said brightly. “I’m so proud of all of you!”

The three of them simply continued looking at him, and Oikawa sighed.

“This is bullying, you’re bullying the most injured member here.”

“We got out by the skin of our teeth, actually,” Matsukawa pointed out.

“And you were the one who whimsically changed our plan,” Hanamaki added.

“And, I think we deserve something here.” Iwaizumi glared, all the pent up anger and frustration and anxiety finally finding an outlet.

“Sorry…?” Oikawa looked away, not meeting his eyes, but Iwaizumi was, he had _enough_.

“Oikawa Tooru, ‘sorry’ doesn’t even cut it! What you had done was utterly reckless and foolish, who the fuck was so important that you had to leave Kindaichi alone-“

“I already knew he could do it-“

“He had to save your fucking ass! You don’t force a newbie to do that, even if he’s capabale! Which you are, Kindaichi, I know and I’m proud too! I’m proud of all of you, but Oikawa, you are the team captain, do you really need me to spell it all out for you?” Iwaizumi was shouting by now, not giving a damn as the rest of the team looked on silently.

Oikawa slowly nodded. “I get it. It was… wrong of me. I underestimated how things would be.” And that trite expression, with blood still seeping into his bandages as he looked so exhausted and regretful… Iwaizumi had already said his piece. He sighed and leaned back.

“So who was the guy?” Matsukawa asked. “The one you went after?”

“Uhh…” Oikawa hesitated, but then seemed to make up his mind about it. “Someone we encountered during our last mission. He was here to disrupt their progress as well, from what I learnt.”

Hanamaki furrowed his eyebrows. “Why’s he so important you paid attention to him even before the mission? Why look out for him specifically.”

Iwaizumi leaned forward, elbows pressed on his knees, curious to hear about that, but Oikawa turned back towards him. Fingers brushed against his temple, then wove into his hair as Oikawa pressed a warm head to his head.

"How's your head?" he asked, a strange tender quality to his voice. There was a beat or two, then Iwaizumi widened his eyes, aghast.

"Are you for real?"

“Him?” He heard Matsuawa ask incredulously, and Hanamaki muttering something unflattering. Oikawa ducked his head and withdrew his hand, but Iwaizumi grabbed it without thinking. "How did you even..." Know who it was. Tracked him down all the way. Planned everything so quietly no one, not even Iwaizumi, knew until the very last second.

"I have my ways." Oikawa wore a slight smile, like he wanted to tease or brag but didn't know where they stood.

"I’m tired right now. But we're going to have more words when we get back on base," Iwaizumi said sternly.

"Yes, Iwa-chan."

"You've been very dumb and very irresponsible."

"Sorry, Iwa-chan."

"You very nearly killed me with wor- stress."

"Oops," Oikawa said, smirking unrepentantly as he caught Iwaizumi's slip. Damn bastard.

"Don't you ever do it again-" He was cut off when the hand in his tensed momentarily.

"No promises." This time, Oikawa's smile was tight.

Iwaizumi scowled. "No revenge killings."

"Shh, you should get some rest." Oikawa tried to pull away but Iwaizumi's grip was firm.

"I’m serious. No more reckless behaviour like this, it's not worth it." Oikawa's eyes narrowed at that. “What now?”

Oikawa leaned in, voice low when he said “You are” and Iwaizumi blinked, heart skipping a beat and then racing forward, as his thoughts spiralled away.

“How about I promise to tell you all beforehand next time?” Oikawa was already leaning back, grinning. Everyone else was glancing at each other uncertainly, but Hanamaki huffed out a laugh.

“Iwaizumi can make him tone it down to something less stupid, don’t worry.”

“And,” Matsukawa called out. “Only if you do the paperwork yourself to explain why such a simple mission like this went so fucking wrong.”

“What!” Oikawa wailed. “Come on, I’m so injured! No, Iwa-chan, save me, not even more paperwork!”

Iwaizumi closed his eyes and ignore the hand tugging his own. Oh, he’d forgotten to release it, but… He made no move to open his hand, and after Oikawa stopped pestering him, neither did he move his own hand away.

Yeah, words to be had when they get back to base. For now, he’s had enough of emotional roller coasters. He better get some R&R after this. Stargazing might be nice.

The warmth in his hand stayed there throughout the flight back.

_**END** _

**Slightly crack extra where Kindaichi is a bit dense on what's going on:**

“Wait,” Kindaichi whispered to Kunimi, “so who’s the guy, exactly?”

Kunimi side-eyed him. “Iwaizumi got a concussion the last mission. Oikawa hunted down someone from the last mission,” he said, then gave him an expectant look.

Kindaichi frowned. “Oh… Hmm. Ohhhh, he hunted down Iwaizumi-san’s attacker, you mean? But, why go so far for a team mate… Captain’s a really dedicated guy. He’s amazing!” Kindaichi glanced at Oikawa, admiration in his eyes. Beside him, Kunimi rolled his eyes and turned away.

**Author's Note:**

> Tbh some parts of this, I was imagining Metal Gear Solid, which is really not a good basis but, eh.
> 
> Here are the roles/field of expertise I envisioned them in for the fic:  
> Oikawa – Captain, Strategist (but with pretty good skills in other areas too)  
> Iwaizumi – Vice-captain, Engineer  
> Matsukawa – Close combat specialist  
> Hanamaki – Weapons (guns), Sniper  
> Yahaba – Explosives  
> Watari – Medic  
> Kunimi – Communications
> 
> I have a tough time thinking about where Kindaichi would be though, so right now, he doesn't exactly specialise, but he'll be a future strategist! I think.
> 
> Writing got a bit rushed in the end so that I could post this on time as promised, I'd appreciate it if anyone pointed out any errors I made! And, thanks for reading! :D


End file.
